The World Cup Weblog - Mar. 3 - Mar. 9
The ump with the crooked finger Brent 'Billy' Bowden is not your ordinary umpire
03-Mar-2003
Sunday, March 9, 2003:::
The ump with the crooked finger
Brent 'Billy' Bowden is not your ordinary umpire. He has his own fan following, and when he is on the field, he is anything but a silent spectator. He is part of the show or, should one say, he is the show, entertaining as only he can.
Source: Rediff.com
Brent 'Billy' Bowden is not your ordinary umpire. He has his own fan following, and when he is on the field, he is anything but a silent spectator. He is part of the show or, should one say, he is the show, entertaining as only he can.
Source: Rediff.com
Duckworth defends his system
His rain-rules system may not be too straightforward, but Frank Duckworth, he of the Duckworth-Lewis fame, is. "They cocked it up," said Duckworth of the mess South Africa made of their target against Sri Lanka.
Source: FOX Sports
His rain-rules system may not be too straightforward, but Frank Duckworth, he of the Duckworth-Lewis fame, is. "They cocked it up," said Duckworth of the mess South Africa made of their target against Sri Lanka.
Source: FOX Sports
The World Cup shambles
So, next stop Disneyland. After the dark hilarity of botched politics, naked compromise, rain and numerical dyslexia contributing in some part to the elimination of some of the best teams from this World Cup, the organisers must hope the next tournament does not turn into another Mickey Mouse affair.
Source: The Guardian, UK
So, next stop Disneyland. After the dark hilarity of botched politics, naked compromise, rain and numerical dyslexia contributing in some part to the elimination of some of the best teams from this World Cup, the organisers must hope the next tournament does not turn into another Mickey Mouse affair.
Source: The Guardian, UK
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posted at 11:01 p.m. IST
Saturday, March 8, 2003:::
This is the best one-day side New Zealand has ever had - Hadlee
Stephen Fleming's current team may not have either Richard Hadlee or Martin Crowe in its ranks, but that hasn't prevented at least Hadlee from calling it the best one-day side that New Zealand has fielded at any point of time.
Source: The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
Stephen Fleming's current team may not have either Richard Hadlee or Martin Crowe in its ranks, but that hasn't prevented at least Hadlee from calling it the best one-day side that New Zealand has fielded at any point of time.
Source: The New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
Richards' Cup hope: Australia v Australia A and B
South African legend Barry Richards believes three Australian sides should be admitted into the next World Cup to boost the standard of competition as their talent far exceeds that of any other cricketing nation.
Source: The Age, Australia
South African legend Barry Richards believes three Australian sides should be admitted into the next World Cup to boost the standard of competition as their talent far exceeds that of any other cricketing nation.
Source: The Age, Australia
Akram says he will not quit in national interest
Legendary left-arm seamer Wasim Akram, who had announced plans to retire after the ODI World Cup, has suddenly decided to change his mind and stay on in the the national interest.
Source: Outlook, India
Legendary left-arm seamer Wasim Akram, who had announced plans to retire after the ODI World Cup, has suddenly decided to change his mind and stay on in the the national interest.
Source: Outlook, India
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posted at 3:27 a.m. IST
Friday, March 7, 2003:::
I am backing India to win the World Cup - Woolmer
"I have always believed and still do that Indians have it in them to win the World Cup. I backed India in England and am backing them now. They are great World Cup contenders," - renowned cricket coach Bob Woolmer in his interview with Ashish Shukla
Source: Outlook, India
"I have always believed and still do that Indians have it in them to win the World Cup. I backed India in England and am backing them now. They are great World Cup contenders," - renowned cricket coach Bob Woolmer in his interview with Ashish Shukla
Source: Outlook, India
Empty seats at Sachin's show
India's six matches in the World Cup preliminary stages have been watched by only 70,005 spectators - not even two-thirds the seating capacity at the famous Eden Gardens stadium, Kolkata!
Source: Rediff.com
India's six matches in the World Cup preliminary stages have been watched by only 70,005 spectators - not even two-thirds the seating capacity at the famous Eden Gardens stadium, Kolkata!
Source: Rediff.com
Bracken, Dizzy to divvy up spoils
Jason Gillespie will earn (Australian) $27,272 more than Nathan Bracken if Australia wins the World Cup, regardless of whether his replacement takes the field.
Soruce: The Australian
Jason Gillespie will earn (Australian) $27,272 more than Nathan Bracken if Australia wins the World Cup, regardless of whether his replacement takes the field.
Soruce: The Australian
Shooting from the lip
Former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, who is commentating at this World Cup, feels that the Australians' inability to handle sledging could prove the catalyst for an upset Sri Lankan win.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, who is commentating at this World Cup, feels that the Australians' inability to handle sledging could prove the catalyst for an upset Sri Lankan win.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
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posted at 12:55 a.m. IST
Thursday, March 6, 2003:::
Reverse sweep: Men to boys
What's a tournament without a few individual failures? Or, to be precise, 11 failures - which, oddly enough, gives us just enough fodder to form a World Cup Flop XI!
Source: Mid-Day, India
What's a tournament without a few individual failures? Or, to be precise, 11 failures - which, oddly enough, gives us just enough fodder to form a World Cup Flop XI!
Source: Mid-Day, India
Duckworth and Lewis not so bad after all!
Spoken like a true Kiwi! Further suggestions include an annual toast to Messrs Duckworth and Lewis for denying South Africa a place in the Super Six - which, from a New Zealand point of view, could not have been sweeter, unless it happened to Australia.
Source: Nzoom.com
Spoken like a true Kiwi! Further suggestions include an annual toast to Messrs Duckworth and Lewis for denying South Africa a place in the Super Six - which, from a New Zealand point of view, could not have been sweeter, unless it happened to Australia.
Source: Nzoom.com
Points for the captain
India are into the Super Six now, but team attitude will now matter more than ever, and India must aim to win every game possible, not just squeak into the semis on the back of a win over Kenya.
Source: Rediff.com
Article URL sent in by Ashwin Kumar (akrai_b@rediffmail.com)
India are into the Super Six now, but team attitude will now matter more than ever, and India must aim to win every game possible, not just squeak into the semis on the back of a win over Kenya.
Source: Rediff.com
Article URL sent in by Ashwin Kumar (akrai_b@rediffmail.com)
Tendulkar's sparkling innings encapsulates nature of change
In the hands of the master, the finest batsman of his day, one-day cricket was suddenly rich in elegance, not a game of ugly improvisation.
Source: The Independent, UK
In the hands of the master, the finest batsman of his day, one-day cricket was suddenly rich in elegance, not a game of ugly improvisation.
Source: The Independent, UK
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posted at 11:23 a.m. IST
Wednesday, March 5, 2003:::
Sourav at war with channels over `insults'
The Indian team has declared war on SET Max and ESPN-Star following comments made by Kris Srikkanth and Navjot Singh Sidhu about skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Source: Mid-Day, India
The Indian team has declared war on SET Max and ESPN-Star following comments made by Kris Srikkanth and Navjot Singh Sidhu about skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Source: Mid-Day, India
I told myself, if I see it I will hit it - Tendulkar
Keeping one intent eye on the crucial Sri Lanka-South Africa tie, Sachin Tendulkar speaks on his spectacular innings against Pakistan, as well as India's entry into the Super Six.
Source: Rediff.com
Keeping one intent eye on the crucial Sri Lanka-South Africa tie, Sachin Tendulkar speaks on his spectacular innings against Pakistan, as well as India's entry into the Super Six.
Source: Rediff.com
The ooomph goes out of World Cup coverage
Mandira Bedi may have been added to Sony's coverage of the World Cup to attract a larger female viewership, but not only have her habits of apparel tended to appeal more to men, but women are now actively turning away from La Bedi - and taking their husbands with them!
Source: The Hindustan Times, India Article URL sent in by Dr Krishna Kumar Venkitachalam (chachoch@yahoo.com)
Mandira Bedi may have been added to Sony's coverage of the World Cup to attract a larger female viewership, but not only have her habits of apparel tended to appeal more to men, but women are now actively turning away from La Bedi - and taking their husbands with them!
Source: The Hindustan Times, India Article URL sent in by Dr Krishna Kumar Venkitachalam (chachoch@yahoo.com)
No sympathy for Pollock - Waugh
"It was obviously a breakdown of communication but in these days of professional sport where you're being paid good money, you shouldn't really make that mistake," said former Australian one-day captain Steve Waugh.
Source: AAP on FOX Sports
"It was obviously a breakdown of communication but in these days of professional sport where you're being paid good money, you shouldn't really make that mistake," said former Australian one-day captain Steve Waugh.
Source: AAP on FOX Sports
South Africa were out from the start
South Africa continues the trend of a host nation never winning the World Cup, but in this case, Shaun Pollock's men never even demonstrated the necessary attitude that would take them to the top.
Source: The Star, South Africa
South Africa continues the trend of a host nation never winning the World Cup, but in this case, Shaun Pollock's men never even demonstrated the necessary attitude that would take them to the top.
Source: The Star, South Africa
Nasser flunked the test - Botham
After Nasser Hussain stepped down as England one-day captain, former English cricket star Ian Botham said that the team had done as much as it could under his leadership.
Source: The Glasgow Daily Record, UK
After Nasser Hussain stepped down as England one-day captain, former English cricket star Ian Botham said that the team had done as much as it could under his leadership.
Source: The Glasgow Daily Record, UK
South Africa to support the Men in Blue?
Former South African opener Andrew Hudson offered mourning fans some practical advice. "The fans should pick a team now and follow it for the Super Six," he said. "And since India seems to be the only team that can beat Australia, the Men in Blue would be a good choice."
Source: The Indian Express, India
Former South African opener Andrew Hudson offered mourning fans some practical advice. "The fans should pick a team now and follow it for the Super Six," he said. "And since India seems to be the only team that can beat Australia, the Men in Blue would be a good choice."
Source: The Indian Express, India
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posted at 11:53 a.m. IST
Tuesday, March 4, 2003:::
A subcontinental grudge match
Wall Street Journal editor Tunku Varadarajan tries to explain the underlying intricacies - "cricket's tribal intensity" - in an India-Pakistan match to an American audience.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, USA
Wall Street Journal editor Tunku Varadarajan tries to explain the underlying intricacies - "cricket's tribal intensity" - in an India-Pakistan match to an American audience.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, USA
Stewart slams World Cup format
Alec Stewart insists that World Cup organisers have given an unfair advantage to those teams playing their final preliminary matches on Tuesday as England wait to discover whether they have qualified for the next stage of the tournament.
Source: This is Gloucestershire, UK
Alec Stewart insists that World Cup organisers have given an unfair advantage to those teams playing their final preliminary matches on Tuesday as England wait to discover whether they have qualified for the next stage of the tournament.
Source: This is Gloucestershire, UK
Questions you'd like to ask Mandira Bedi
It's not that Mandira Bedi is stupid. But she seems willing to be projected as the silly face of the idiot box, so while Charu Sharma and other wise men analyse away, Ms Bedi gives her little good-luck ditties, bites her lip after each smile, and gives us her cutesy I-really-felt-bad-seeing-a-stretcher-on-the-field type of quotes.
Source: The Indian Express, India
It's not that Mandira Bedi is stupid. But she seems willing to be projected as the silly face of the idiot box, so while Charu Sharma and other wise men analyse away, Ms Bedi gives her little good-luck ditties, bites her lip after each smile, and gives us her cutesy I-really-felt-bad-seeing-a-stretcher-on-the-field type of quotes.
Source: The Indian Express, India
"We're not falling apart"
"We didn't come into the World Cup wanting to become maths professors but that's the way it's ended up," writes Shoaib Akhtar. "Everyone in the team is really clued up on exactly what we have to do against Zimbabwe to get through to the Super Sixes - and put England out of the competition."
Source: The Guardian, UK
"We didn't come into the World Cup wanting to become maths professors but that's the way it's ended up," writes Shoaib Akhtar. "Everyone in the team is really clued up on exactly what we have to do against Zimbabwe to get through to the Super Sixes - and put England out of the competition."
Source: The Guardian, UK
White ball at night? Not a fieldsman's delight
If modern technology has not been able to produce a ball good enough to retain its white shine for the duration of its use, then perhaps they should go back to using a good old-fashioned red one.
Source: Ha'aretz, Israel
If modern technology has not been able to produce a ball good enough to retain its white shine for the duration of its use, then perhaps they should go back to using a good old-fashioned red one.
Source: Ha'aretz, Israel
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posted at 12:31 p.m. IST
Monday, March 3, 2003:::
Proud of Indian heritage, but rooting for West Indies
Mahadev Jaisingh Dukharan, a Jamaican judge of Indian origin, regrets that he doesn't have time enough to follow the ongoing cricket World Cup. Dukharan, a third-generation Jamaican of Indian origin, is the country's only ethnic Indian Supreme Court judge, and his loyalties are quite clear: It is the West Indies, and not India, that he's rooting for.
Source: The Hindustan Times, India
Mahadev Jaisingh Dukharan, a Jamaican judge of Indian origin, regrets that he doesn't have time enough to follow the ongoing cricket World Cup. Dukharan, a third-generation Jamaican of Indian origin, is the country's only ethnic Indian Supreme Court judge, and his loyalties are quite clear: It is the West Indies, and not India, that he's rooting for.
Source: The Hindustan Times, India
Cricket match unites ODU crowd
In little-known Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, at 3 a.m., around 160 Indian and Pakistani students gather to watch the World Cup match relayed from South Africa, eating pizza, cheering and sharing a type of bond their compatriots back home may not.
Source: The Virginian Pilot, USA
In little-known Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, at 3 a.m., around 160 Indian and Pakistani students gather to watch the World Cup match relayed from South Africa, eating pizza, cheering and sharing a type of bond their compatriots back home may not.
Source: The Virginian Pilot, USA
All Polly and Co. need to do is stick to the basics
Against Sri Lanka, all South Africa really needs to do is stick to the fundamentals, but they must do well in this all-too-crucial game, says Fanie de Villiers.
Source: The Star, South Africa
Against Sri Lanka, all South Africa really needs to do is stick to the fundamentals, but they must do well in this all-too-crucial game, says Fanie de Villiers.
Source: The Star, South Africa
Inspired Bichel's just reward
It was a surprising day for the man who spends most of his baggy-green minutes pushing the drinks trolley. He went to bed with the second-best World Cup figures ever and a match-winning flurry of runs. Reserves are not supposed to do this sort of thing.
Source: The Guardian, UK
Related CricInfo links: Andy Bichel player profile
It was a surprising day for the man who spends most of his baggy-green minutes pushing the drinks trolley. He went to bed with the second-best World Cup figures ever and a match-winning flurry of runs. Reserves are not supposed to do this sort of thing.
Source: The Guardian, UK
Related CricInfo links: Andy Bichel player profile
Read anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.
posted at 12:13 p.m. IST